Vegetarian Gyros

Every word I type right now is one less word that is going into my research paper. This blog is a lot of things for me – an outlet, a collection, an experiment – but it’s also an excellent tool for procrastination, alongside my guitar, my dog and the rest of the internet.

I bounce between them in order to stretch my homework in to the early morning hours, which is something I regularly do, but wouldn’t recommend. It’s difficult going back and forth, too. As I typed that last sentence, I questioned whether I should be writing this post in AP style or APA format, which is probably as depressing to read as it was to type.

Grad school isn’t for the faint of heart, I guess. It’s Saturday afternoon, and I’ve got another 15-2o pages of research paper to knock out before Tuesday at 5 p.m., and all I can think about is making a milkshake.

CC’s recipe looked good, so I stuck to it pretty close, with the exception of two pretty big diffs. I made my own tzatziki sauce and instead of seitan, which I had none of, I used Gardein brand fake chicken breasts (which, for the record, taste pretty much like whatever you season them with – and they’re BOGO at Publix this week).

Traditional gyros use lamb, but if you’re veggie, seitan or any other meat sub would work nicely. Also, I know of those who make them with broccoli, instead of a meat-less sub.

Step 1) To make the tzatziki, peel and seed (scoop out the seed junk with a spoon) the cucumber. If you don’t seed the cucumber, your tzatziki will be unecessarily runny. Once prepared, dice the cucumber into pieces roughly the size of peanut M&M’s (that’s the best I’ve got today)

Scoop those seeds out!

Step 2) Mix the cucumber into the Greek yogurt, and add in two to three minced cloves of garlic, depending on how spicy you like things. Add in the olive oil, most of the juice from half a medium sized lemon, and some salt and pepper. Fold it all together, but don’t beat it to hard or the yogurt can begin to break down.

Step 3) Place the tzatziki in the fridge for a while, so it is nice and chilled when it’s time to serve. Oh, and don’t leave the cucumber out for too long after it’s been peeled. It’ll start browning like an apple.

Step 4) Place your fake chicken/seitan strips in a pan with a little evoo and cook according to package directions (plus a few minutes if you like it a little crispy like me). Once it is cooked through, season with the cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Let the flavors cook in for a minute or two, then remove.

Step 5) Place the chicken/seitan in a warm pita, and top with diced tomatoes, onions, lettuce and a generous helping of tzatziki sauce. Wrap it up in foil like they do on the mean streets of Greece.

6 responses to “Vegetarian Gyros”

Solid photos! My sauce called for mint and no lemon, so I’ll definitely be using lemon next time. And your gyro seasoning actually looks a million times better than my recipe’s – I like the nutmeg-cinnamon combo. I’ll likely be trying your version soon (albeit with a twist of carnivore). I’d love to make homemade pitas at some point, too.